The trial will use an AI screening platform to identify those most at risk of dementia
A consortium of 30 partners led by Stavanger University Hospital has received €21m in funding to steer the PREDICTOM trial to pioneer early detection in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
PREDICTOM is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) screening platform to identify individuals most at risk of developing dementia before symptoms appear.
Currently, more than seven million people in the EU are living with dementia, which is set to double by 2050.
Worldwide, around 55 million people are believed to be living with AD, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills.
PREDICTOM aims to reduce the strain on healthcare services as well as associated costs by collecting biomarkers such as saliva, stool, digital markers and blood, from participants homes or GP offices instead of hospitals and specialised clinics.
The consortium of partners from academia, business and civil society, including partners from 15 countries from Europe, Asia and the US, will steer the study as part of the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), a public-private partnership between the European Union and the European life sciences industries.
The funding includes €8m from the EU provided through Horizon Europe, €9m from industry, including Novo Nordisk, GN Hearing and Pharmacoidea Hungary and an additional €4m from UK Research and Innovation.
Running from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2027, over 4,000 participants will partake in the trial based on previous projects, including PROJECT UK, PROJECT Norway and Radar-AD, and will include other participating centres in Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain.
The bio-samples collected will be combined with the PREDICTOM AI platform to process participant data, integrating blood, cerebrospinal fluid, imaging, electrophysiological and digital biomarkers to generate risk assessments, early diagnoses and prognosis for the early intervention and treatment of AD.
Professor Dag Aarsland at King’s College London and research lead at Stavanger University Hospital, driving the project, said: “Detecting early signs of dementia is key to slowing its progression.
“Our platform seeks to… [enable] early discovery, allowing timely intervention and preventative treatment.”
